Woven Bond
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: Cedric and Amber have a few bonding moments over something seemingly trivial yet very poignant to them.


Woven Bond

Summary: Cedric and Amber have a few bonding moments over something seemingly trivial yet very poignant to them.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Sofia the First!" :)

A/N: So here comes one of my rare Cedric and Amber stories. :D I wanted a mostly _happy_ story with them for once, so I hope you like it. And to answer a few questions: YES! :) I did get to see "Cedric Be Good." It was AMAZING! Or, as Sofia said as a nice little throwback to the first movie, Ah-mazing! :D And I did notice the possible reference of "Johnny B. Goode." Loved it. Lol. These writers never cease to amaze me. Okay! Here goes!

" _Cedric," the Queen of Enchancia asked gently as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder._

 _Cedric smiled and turned to the queen, one of his favorite people, and nodded. His brown eyes softened in concern, seeing the weakness in her stance. 'She's getting worse,' he thought helplessly, knowing it wouldn't be much longer now before she left not only him but her family behind forever. "Yes, Your Majesty?"_

 _She saw his concerned look and smiled gently, caressing his cheek in a friendly manner. "Don't look so sad, my friend. None of this is your fault."_

" _I could have tried harder to find a cure…" He blinked when she put a finger to his lips, silencing him._

" _ **None**_ _of this is your fault. Now." She smiled pleasantly as she clasped her hands together. "I do have a bit of a favor to ask of you."_

" _Anything, Your Majesty," he declared, and he meant it. While many others in the castle saw him as nothing more than a half-rate sorcerer, the Queen of Enchancia saw him as a friend and a competent and gifted sorcerer. It was the boost of confidence he needed, and he'd repay her a thousand times for her kindness and friendship if he could._

" _Could you keep an eye on Amber for me?" She sighed. "James is handling things a bit better than she is, and I'm afraid she's…in denial…"_

" _That makes two of us."_

 _Her smile turned into a sad one. "I know… But could you do that for me, my friend?"_

" _Absolutely, Your Majesty. I'll keep an eye on both of your children and make sure they're well taken care of. I promise."_

" _Thank you, Cedric." She blinked when she felt a tug on her gown and looked down, seeing little Amber standing with a brush in one hand and a long ribbon in another. "Amber, darling, what are you doing out of bed?"_

" _Mommy, will you braid my hair?" she asked sleepily. "If I leave it down, it'll get all tangled again, and James said that rats would live in it!"_

 _Cedric tried to stifle his laugh but barely managed it as the queen giggled at the girl's insistency._

" _Okay, little one. I think…" She paused, holding a hand to her head. "I…think we should just stay right here."_

" _Your Majesty?"_

" _I'm all right, Cedric." She nodded gently to him as she sat on a nearby bench and placed a cushion on the floor, gesturing for Amber to sit before her. She had gathered three sections of the girl's hair (reminiscent of her own) and had begun weaving the blonde locks together when she felt lightheaded. "Cedric?"_

 _Cedric quickly hurried to the queen's side, lowering onto the bench next to her. "You're dizzy again, aren't you?"_

" _I'll be all right… Can you help me with this?"_

" _Me?" He seemed rather flustered at the request. "Your Majesty, I don't know anything about braiding hair…"_

 _She chuckled softly. "There's not much to know. Here." She scooted over and allowed him to move behind Amber. She handed him the three sections of her daughter's hair. "Now, take the left part and pass it over the middle." She grinned as he did as she asked. "Good. Now grab that part and pass the right over. And repeat." It took a few tries, but Cedric finally got the hang of braiding hair._

' _Great,' he thought with a sarcastic flare, 'yet another useful tool to add to my résumé.' He tied off the end of the princess's blonde hair and lowered his hands to his lap. "I hope I did well, Princess Amber."_

 _Amber reached up and felt her braid, smiling happily at the result. "Not bad for your first try, Cedric!" She giggled. "Night, Mommy! I'll see you tomorrow." She hugged her mother and then curtsied to both of the adults. "Night, Cedric!" She waved and left._

" _She sure is spirited," Cedric commented as he began to stand._

 _The queen grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. Seeing confusion on his face, she smiled. "I…thank you, Cedric… I wish I could do more…do what I used to be able to do. Even the simplest things are getting harder for me."_

" _It's not your fault…" He felt strange, delivering the same words to her that she'd just delivered to him. "That is…" He sighed._

" _I know. But I want you to know how grateful I am. You've been a wonderful friend through all of this, and no matter what anyone else may say, I want you to know that I think you're a great sorcerer." She took his hand and gently patted it with her other. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise…"_

 _He became a bit shy before nodding and smiling at her. "Thank you…Your Majesty."_

Cedric huffed as he shut his spell book. He couldn't concentrate. His mind kept wandering, and tonight it had decided to settle on Roland's first wife, one of his closest friends…or who _should_ have been his closest friend, had she not…

"Hello, brain?" he asked sarcastically as he knocked on his head. "You think maybe you could focus for _two minutes_ instead of drifting off to yesteryear? Thanks so much."

"Do you always talk to yourself?"

"AHH!" Cedric gasped in surprise and turned around, sighing in relief as he saw Amber standing there. "Princess Amber! You frightened me."

"Well, that's interesting." She grinned as she walked up to him. She looked over his shoulder at his numerous scattered books and smirked. "A bit of light reading?"

"Funny. What are you doing here so late?" He had sent Sofia off to dinner probably an hour ago, and he assumed it had to be after 8:00 by now. And Amber rarely visited him…unless she wanted something, of course.

"I was just wondering if you could…help me with something."

He lifted an eyebrow at her sudden shyness. "I'd like to think so, Princess Amber…but what specifically did you have in mind?"

"Could you, um…?" She rolled her eyes, becoming a bit more confident. "Could you braid my hair? Like you did for Mom that one time?"

The sorcerer blinked in surprise. "I beg your pardon?"

"Look, I know it sounds stupid, but… Well, Sofia's already in bed, and James would probably pull the hair out of my scalp or something…and Daddy doesn't know the first thing about braiding."

"What about Queen Miranda?"

"It's not the same, Cedric. Please?" She pouted. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"

"Oh, all right. No need for this big fuss." He rolled his eyes as she grinned excitedly and handed him her brush and a green ribbon. "Came prepared, I see."

"Yeah, well, I knew I could get you to do anything if I was pathetic enough." She laughed when he made a noise of contempt. She sat on his rolling chair and heard him pull another chair behind her, sitting into it and yawning. "Are you tired?"

"Well, it has been a rather long day…" He began brushing her hair, more wavy than tangled like it had been when she was younger. "So what brought all this on?"

"You know my hair tangles pretty easily; well, it's worse at night. So I thought…about what my mom taught you about braiding my hair when I was a little girl." She smiled thoughtfully as she felt him set the brush aside before dividing her hair into three sections. "I never did thank you for that…"

Cedric chuckled. "No need, Princess Amber. It was my honor, I suppose. Besides, I actually did add 'princess hair braiding' to my résumé."

She laughed incredulously. "You didn't!"

"Of course I did! I have bragging rights! …Plus I'd never get another job anywhere else anyway, so I didn't see what harm it could do."

Amber smiled and rolled her eyes in humor. She sighed as she felt him finish, the end of the braid tied with the green ribbon. She glanced into his mirror and smiled, admiring the finished product. "Perfect." She turned to him and nodded appreciatively. "Thanks, Cedric."

"You're wel—come?" He was surprised when she hugged him, a purely happy smile on her face. "Princess Amber? Are you all right?" He hesitantly returned her hug before she pulled away.

Amber grinned. "You'd think with all the practice you've gotten from Sofia hugging you these last few years, you'd be used to it by now."

"Yes, from _her_ , but not from anyone else—no offense."

She giggled. "None taken. I do appreciate it, Cedric. Thanks again." She winked and took her brush from his table and stood up. "Night!" She waved and left, shutting his door behind her, reminiscent of those years ago.

Cedric laughed once, surprised by the events. "I made you a promise, Your Majesty," he said quietly to himself. "And I intend to keep it."

The end

A/N: I have no idea what brought this on. Lol. But I love the idea behind it… As someone with three and a half feet of hair, I know how much of a pain it can be when trying to sleep at night, and I do try to braid mine before going to bed. It's just easier and less stressful when I get up the next day. Haha. Anyway! The next story will be "Make It Work," and it will focus on none other than our darling Baileywick! :) Good night, everyone! ~AquaTurquoise


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